Wild Garlic + Squash Risotto (serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
3 celery sticks or 1 onion
250g aborio risotto rice
2 large handfuls wild garlic
nutritional rice or parmesan (optional)
1L veg stock
salt and pepper
ghee, avocado or olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180degrees and prepare the squash, peeling and cutting into 2cm cubes. Drizzle the squash in oil, salt + pepper and place in the oven for around 35 - 45minutes. The squash is cooked when a fork slides through well and is starting to turn golden, check at 35minutes and see if it needs more time.
Whilst the squash is cooking, prepare the risotto. Chop the celery sticks into small pieces as if chopping an onion (you can also use onion), heat 1 - 2tbsp ghee or oil in a pan and fry the celery on a medium heat until starting to turn golden, whilst frying make the veg stock. Once cooked, add the rice and stir for around 30 seconds until coated, then add half the veg stock to the rice and mix thoroughly. As the rice cooks the stock will evaporate and you will need to keep adding more until the rice is cooked through (once the stock is gone, if needed, you need more use water). As you add more water and stir, keep checking throughout this process, making sure the risotto doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Test the rice as it starts to looks more fluffy and full, it will be done when the rice has a soft bite to it - retain a small bit of liquid in the pan so the risotto isn’t completely dry (this will incorporate when you add the next ingredients).
Whilst you’re tending to the risotto you can prep the wild garlic - this is seasonal and optional! Other good substitutes are kale or leeks. If you’ve picked the wild garlic yourself make sure it’s clean and no other plants are mixed in with it, rinsing each leaf under cold water and making sure any dirt is removed. Boil the kettle, and put the wild garlic in a bowl - pour the hot water over the garlic and leave for just 1 minute. Drain then carefully squeezing the moisture out (as it will be very hot!), and roughly chop. You can drain using a spatula or potato masher to squeeze to avoid using your hands, or wait a couple of minutes for the heat to cool.
Once the squash is cooked, add to the rice with the wild garlic and stir, season to taste.
This is a vegan risotto recipe (unless you use ghee instead of oil). If you want to add parmesan you can either grate and stir some in at the end, or sprinkle on top. You can also substitute parmesan with nutritional yeast, again, either stirring or a sprinkle!
